


The Lost Crown

by abbithian



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Lies, Memory Loss
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-16 01:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28822719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbithian/pseuds/abbithian
Summary: Anya wakes up in field not remembering anything but her name and her age. She is brought to L'Manberg and welcomed. She starts to become friends with the citizens in the country as she learns the history of L'Manberg. But where does she fit into this story? She develops many relations, but she soon figures out that there are two sides to every story, and learning both may change her view on everyone and everything.
Relationships: Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) & Original Female Character(s), Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF) & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

The light immediately became overwhelming before I even opened my eyes. My room never became that bright. I covered my face with my arm, shielding myself from the sunlight. I rolled onto my arm so when I opened my eyes, I'd be looking at the ground. When I regained my sight, I found myself in the grass. Where am I? 

"Hello? Are you ok?" A voice asked. I was petrified, how long had they been standing over me. "Hello? Can you hear me?" 

"Um, yeah. I think I'm ok," I mumbled, trying to get my thoughts together. How long had I been asleep?

"Are you sure? Are you hurt? How did you get here?" They had knelt down to me, blocking the sun. I finally looked up, my eyes having adjusted to the brightness. There was a man inches from my face. He had fluffy brown hair brown eyes. I also just realized he had a British accent. 

"No, I think I'm ok," I took a second to compose myself, "Where is here?"

"You don't know where you are?"

"No, not at all. The last thing I remember is falling asleep in my room and then I woke up here."

"Do you sleep in gowns?" He asked.

"No, why?"

"You're wearing a red gown." I looked down and I was in a full length gown. It was a deep red, two piece gown with a silk skirt that had a slit that went almost all of the way up my left leg and an off the shoulder top with a sweetheart neckline. I was also wearing black plush heels. 

"Let me take you into town, we should meet with Tubbo. Maybe he knows something." He stood up and extended a hand to help me up. 

"Ok? Who's Tubbo?" I took his hand and he pulled me up. He was slightly taller than me and I was wearing heels. 

"The president. You really have no idea where you are?" He started walking, ushering me to follow him. I took one step and immediately lost my balance. Surprisingly, he caught me. 

"Smooth, um, thank you. And no, I don't." He helped me back up but didn't let go of my hand this time. 

"Maybe I shouldn't let you go this time. We saw how well that worked last time." He smiled and held out his arm for me to hold on to. 

"At least buy me dinner before you try to hold my hand. I don't even know your name." I grabbed his arm and we started walking toward the town.

"Fair, I'm Eret. And who do I owe the pleasure?"

I thought about it, I could barely remember anything but one name stuck out in the vast abyss of nothing, "Anya."

**************************************************

We walked into a town and along a wooden path. There were so many buildings that were made in so many different styles. The town was full of people. As we walked through, we received so many looks. Many people said hi to Eret, but they just looked at me. 

"Ignore the stares, not many new people show up, especially not in a gown." Eret whispered to me as we approached what seemed like Tubbo's house. Eret unlinked our arms and knocked on the door. It swung open, revealing a man with a beanie.

"Eret? What's up?" It didn't seem like he had noticed me.

"Quackity, I need to speak to Tubbo. I was on the outskirts and I found her," He stepped aside to let Quackity see me, "She doesn't remember anything but her name, Anya. I'm hoping that Tubbo can help, and if not he can get Dream." Quackity just started. 

"Yeah, of course. Come in." He stepped aside to let Eret and I in. I followed closely behind. I had latched to Eret, I barely knew him, but it was better than not knowing anyone. Quackity lead us to a room that was occupied by two other men, one tall and one short. 

"Tubbo, Fundy." Quackity waiting for both men to look at him before he continued, "Eret found Anya on the outskirts on L'Manberg. She doesn't remember anything. Do you know who she is?" The two men looked at me in the doorway as Eret and Quackity stepped aside. 

"Oh. I'm sorry, I don't recognize her," the short one said, "But we'll welcome you with open arms! I'm Tubbo, I'm the president and this is Fundy!" Tubbo extended his hand out for me to shake it, which I did. 

"Hello Tubbo. Thank you so much." Fundy then extended his hand, "I'm Fundy." I shook his as well, "Hello!" 

"Well, we should probably get ahold of Dream. It might be a few days, I have no idea where he is. We can find somewhere for you to stay until we can find him if you'd like," Tubbo suggested, turning his attention back to me. 

"If you'd like, you can stay at my castle. There's plenty of room." Eret added. 

"That's very kind, thank you. I would love that. But what do you mean, castle?" I looked at him, for the first time noticing the crown that sat atop his head but not having seen a castle on the walk in.

"Of course he didn't introduce himself, he's the king," Quackity rolled his eyes. 

"I don't need to introduce myself with my title to impress people. I do that all on my own." He was quite the charmer. While we were all talking, someone ran into the room. 

"Tommy is here!" I didn't even see who ran in before they ran out. The guys all went to follow the voice outside, "Not that I don't think you could hold your own, but maybe you should stay here. We don't know what he wants." Fundy said. 

"That's fair, I'll stay here." Fundy nodded as he took a sword off of the wall and handed one to Eret. 

They all quickly left the building and I ran to a window to watch everything go down. I couldn't see much, but I did see a tall blond boy standing in the middle of the walkway. The men I had met earlier created a wall with Eret to the side, not really participating. I assumed he didn't have aa huge an issue with this kid as the rest of them. They seemed to be talking peacefully but their weapons were drawn and they were all on edge. 

"So you're the one who has the town buzzing?" A monotoned voice behind me froze me while I stared out the window. I saw the blond boy lock eyes with me. He smirked. As I turned around I was met with the end of a rocket launcher. Holding the rocket launcher, he towered. He was terrifying. He had a pig mask that covered most of his face, except his mouth. His pink hair was tied back in a small ponytail. "Why are they hiding you up here?"

I couldn't speak. How was I supposed to, what would I say. He had me helpless. 

"Are you not going to speak? Did they already take your freedom of speech?"

"Maybe pointing that weapon at me may be making it hard to speak." I barely managed to get out while trying to take a step back.

"Oh, maybe the rocket launcher was a little too much? " He asked as he put the weapon onto his back. "This might work better," He unsheathed a sword and stepped closer, pushing me into the wall. He held the sword to my neck. He was inches from my face, his entire body pinning me into the wall. I could feel him breathing. His eyes radiated chaos. I tilted my chin up and to the side to escape the blade, with no luck. 

"Awh, so pretty when you're scared." He stared into my soul, and after a moment the chaos in his eyes faded slightly. He didn't move, but his body became slightly softer and more protective than threatening shockingly. 

"Anya! Anya, he's gone!" Eret yelled as I heard all of their footsteps come down the hall. As he turned the corner to see the movie unfolding in the planning room, "You ready to go?" He stopped in the doorway, seeing me being held at sword point. 

"Technoblade! Step away from her!" He drew his sword and pointed it at him, with Quackity close behind him. 

"I see you have a fan club. I'll be seeing you again, Anya." He stepped away, smirked, and jumped through the window, throwing an orb and disappearing almost immediately. I put my hand to my neck, holding where the sword had lied. 

"Anya! Are you ok?" Eret rushed in and held me as I fell to the floor. 

"I can't believe that Techno did that. I mean I can, but she just got here, how did he know she was here. And why did he go after her anyway?" Fundy asked as Tubbo knelt down next to be to help calm me down. 

"Who the hell was that?"


	2. Chapter 2

"That's Technoblade. We should've expected him, why would Tommy just show up without him?" Quackity started, turning to look at Fundy while Tubbo and Eret comforted me on the floor.

"He probably came in here searching for his weapons and found Anya instead. He probably thought you knew something." Tubbo said.

"He asked why you were hiding me up here. The blond kid saw me and smirked. What the fuck is happening?" I just showed up in this town and I've already been threatened.

"Tommy used to be a part of L'Manberg but he burnt down George's house and got himself exiled. We thought he killed himself in exile but he showed up a few weeks ago with Techno and started threatening people. Techno only ever comes around to cause chaos. He showed up to help in Manberg vs Pogtopia War, but after we won, he helped Wilbur destroy it all." Fundy explained. Tubbo hung his head as I was quickly caught up on the history.

"He's my best friend, he's not a bad guy. But he made a lot of bad choices, and it seems like he hasn't learned. And now he's teamed up with Techno." He seemed incredibly heartbroken. I don't know what to say to him. This town has gone through so much it seems. I couldn't imagine going through all of this.

"How old is Tommy? He seemed so young."

"16, he helped create this country with Wilbur, who was 24. We've all been through a lot and we're all pretty young. Eret is 22, Fundy is 21, Tubbo is 17, and I'm 20. Do you know how old you are?" Quackity took over talking.

"I think I'm 19, but honestly I don't know for sure."

"It's ok, don't worry about it. Let's get you out of here. I don't think they'll come back anytime soon. but maybe we shouldn't be where they left us," Eret said, standing up and helping me up as well.

"That sounds good. Do you have a place in town where I could find something else to wear? I feel a bit overdressed."

"Of course, we'll go on the way to the castle." I said goodbye to the rest of them and Eret and I heading into the town. We found me a red satin skirt that went to my shins and a black tube top. I also found black flats. We headed to the castle, still receiving looks from all of the other citizens. I guess a new person and then Tommy and Techno showing up is a lot of excitement for one day. Once we got back to the castle, I changed and Eret caught me up on everything. He told me about Dream and how if anyone would be able to tell me about myself it would be him. We ate dinner and relaxed in the castle. When it became dark, we said goodnight and I retired the the extra room he had set up for me. It was weird being here, but I fell asleep quickly.

**************************************************

The next few days were nice. I was introduced to most of L'Manberg. I'd been spending most of my time with either Eret or Niki. She had such a sweat aura, full of love and kindness. Her and I become really close. I've discovered a love of baking so I've been helping her in her bakery. She gave a flower when we first met so I put it in my room in the castle. Dream is stopping by soon so Tubbo is going to have him meet me and see what he knows.

I keep thinking that I see Techno everywhere. His eyes are burned into my head. Everywhere I turn I think I see him but when I look again there is nothing. I constantly feel his cold blade on my neck and his chest pushed up against mine. The change in his presence after he started me down. He felt eerily familiar, but his negative aura radiated off of him. I could feel it in my soul that he was evil. 

I was with Niki today; we were in the fields picking flowers to decorate her bakery. We were finding so many flowers, plenty to decorate!

"I'm going to look in this forest!" I yelled to Niki, who was kneeling down, taking care to keep the roots intact so he could replant them when we got back to her home.

"Ok! Be safe!" She yelled back. I started walking around the large dark oak trees, searching for poppies and lilacs. After only a short distance I saw a bunch of lilacs. I knelt down to dig them up and place them in my basket to bring them back. I heard the leaves rustle in the wind, but I didn't feel the breeze. I looked up and glanced around me, watching to see if anything moved. When nothing did, I stood up, leaving a few lilacs still planted, to leave. I had a bad feeling about whatever was in the woods. It felt violent, while not evil, I didn't want to meet whatever it was. As I ran out of the woods, I turned to see if whatever had just been there was chasing me. I slammed right into Niki, knocking both of our baskets to the ground and the flowers spilling onto the ground.

"Anya! Oh jeez, are you ok?" She asked as she sat up and reached for her basket to put the flowers back in.

"Yeah, I heard something but I think it was just a mob. I should have been paying attention to where I was running," I started helping gather the scattered flowers again.

"Oh don't be silly, I would've done the same thing!" She picked up a lilac and revealed what seemed to be a dead rose. "Anya, where did you get this?"

I looked at the flower, "I've never seen a flower that looks like that. What even is it?"

"It's a wither rose," I reached out to pick it up, "Don't touch it!"

"What, why not?"

"It'll hurt you," She stared at the flower laying on the ground. "Let's get the rest of the flowers and head back into town. I'm getting bad vibes."

"Sounds good, Eret and I are meeting with Tubbo and the guys later to talk about when Dream is coming." We headed back into town. I dropped off my basket at her house and headed to the house I had first gone to when I first arrived.

I walked up to the door and knocked. I was greeted by Fundy, "Hi Anya! Come in, Eret should be here soon."

"Hi, thank you!" He stepped aside letting me in and closing the door behind me. He followed me up the stairs and down the hall into a meeting room where Tubbo and Quackity were talking.

"All I'm saying Tubbo, is that Techno needs to go down. He's a danger to the server and the longer he's out there, the more deadly he becomes. It's just a matter of time before he comes back demanding his weapons back." Tubbo turned and saw us standing in the doorway.

"We'll talk about this later. Hi Anya! How was your day!" Tubbo asked me. We walked into the room and I took a seat on the green couch facing the windows.

"It was fun, Niki and I were picking flowers for her bakery!" I loved hanging out with Niki, it was always fun. "What did y'all do?"

Quackity tensed up at the thought of telling me what they had been doing, "If it has to do with state secrets, there's no need to tell me."

Tubbo chuckled, "Sorry Anya, We can't tell you about our plans to take over the world. We just met you!" He collapsed into laughter and I followed suit.

"What did I miss?" Eret asked as he appeared in the doorway.

"Nothing," I struggled to say between laughs and gasps of air. Tubbo and I tried to stop laughing and control ourselves. Fundy and Eret were just smiling at us and Quackity couldn't wait for us to shut up.

"We're here to help you, could you at least try to be serious?" He glared at me. He really didn't like me.

"Quackity, relax. They're just having fun, something you should try once in a while," Fundy snapped back.

"Maybe I would be able to if we weren't constantly getting attacked by Tommy and Techno, but we are so we need to be serious to protect L'Manberg." Fundy rolled his eyes and ignored him. We started talking about Dream and how he would know who I was if anyone would know. They told me about the Badlands and to avoid it because they aren't on anyone's team and live for chaos. A lot of the people outside of this town love chaos. I do want to meet them before I decide that they're bad, at least feel out their auras. Quackity left shortly after we started talking about things that didn't concern Dream telling us where I'm from. Fundy, Tubbo, Eret, and I hung out for almost 2 hours. It started to get dark so Eret and I decided to head back to the castle for dinner and to chill for the rest of the night. We ate and then sat in the library where we sat and read for hours until we could barely keep our eyes open. We said our goodnights and then went to our rooms. As I opened my door I saw a dead flower in a flower pot on the vanity in the corner. I picked up the pot and took it to Eret's room.

"Eret?" I knocked on his door, "Did you leave this in my room?"

He opened the door and his eyes became wide, "Oh my god, LIAM! PUFFY!" He sounded hysterical, "Stay here, and don't touch the flower!" He took the flower and placed it on a table next to the door before trying to run. I grabbed his wrist, "Why? What's going on?" He turned to me, "It's a wither rose, it'll hurt you if you touch it. Someone obviously broke into the castle and left that for you. As of right now, it's a threat. I'm calling in my knights to protect to until we find out who did this."

I thought about earlier with Niki and finding another wither rose, "Niki and I found one of these earlier."

He looked at me, "What?"

"Niki and I found one earlier. I was in the forest and heard something so I ran out. I ran into her and the flowers all fell out. While we were putting them back in the baskets we saw one and came back to town."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" He was almost yelling.

"I don't know, we didn't think anything out it! And then I just forgot about it when we went and talked to Tubbo and Fundy!" I said back just as loudly.

"We have to tell Tubbo. I'm going to get Liam to go with you and Puffy and I are going to search the castle." I nodded and he led me outside and to Liam's house. When Liam answered the door, Eret told him what had happened and that his newest mission was to protect me and get me to Tubbo. He said that he would meet me and Liam at Tubbo's after he secured the castle with Puffy.

Liam and I left his house in the shadows, hiding behind anything we could find as Eret ran to find Puffy. He had me follow close behind him, keeping us hidden in the dark. We moved almost silently across town, trying to reach Tubbo's without drawing attention to us from citizens or whoever had threatened me. We were only a few buildings away when we saw fireworks in the air down the streets.

"Who's setting off fireworks?" I whispered to Liam.

"I don't kn... Techno. It's Techno. I'll distract him, get to Tubbo's!" He handed me a small knife and then took off toward the fireworks. I waiting a few seconds before taking off down the ally. Before I could make it to the door, I tripped on something. The knife flew out of my hand and land a few feet away from me. When I turned over, I was greeted with a glimmering sword pointed at my neck.

"We really should stop meeting like this." A dark figure stepped into my view, I could barely make him out, but I knew who it was. He stepped closer, the slight bit of light shining from the path reflecting off of his horns. He was holding the sword still but kneeling down to get in my face. His cape fell on top of me. It was a plush velvet.

"Should we now?" I managed to push out of my mouth. He took the tip of the sword and put it right under my chin. He used the slightest amount of pressure to push my chin up so I was looking at him directly.

"Probably, I'd hate to scratch up that pretty little face." He leaned in more so that he was whispering in my ear, "Did you like my gift?" I tensed up completely. I didn't want to answer, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he scared the shit out of me. He didn't deserve to know he had freaked me and Eret out.

"You loved it so much you can't even put it into words? I have that effect on people." He had moved the sword slightly away from my neck. I reached for the knife. It was just out of my range. He glanced toward the knife. "Not getting any bright ideas are we?" He moved the sword away from my neck and to the side of me, putting him inches from my face and right on top of me. He used the sword to flip the knife away and then placed it behind my neck. The light caught a small dagger on his belt. "Anya, you don't know these people like you think you do." He was still trying to be intimidating, but there was an hint of caution in his voice.

"What do you know? You just show up to cause problems." I spit back.

"Is that what they've told you? Ah, I'm hurt," He acted like my words hurt but they did nothing. Much worse things must have been said to him. He leaned back to whisper in my ear, "That changes nothing though. You know nothing about them. Doesn't mean they're bad, doesn't mean they're good, just means you don't know them. You don't know their stories, their relationships. You know nothing about them. Don't act like you do." I could see the dagger, I grabbed for it and ripped it from its holster. I plunged it into his side. He roared out in pain and dropped the sword, I pulled the dagger out and pushed him off of me. I ran out of the ally and into the street lights.

"Liam! Eret! Tubbo!" I was screaming for anyone to help. Quackity threw open his front door and ran over to me. He saw me holding a dagger covered in blood and my hand dripping with blood.

"Anya?" He took my hand holding the dagger into his to examine it.

"Techno." His head shot up.

"Where?"

"The ally, I stabbed him," I pointed down the ally way. He took off down the ally, only to come out a moment later with his head hung low.

"He's gone, but you left a nice pool of his blood. Let me see your hand, did you cut yourself? Did he hurt you?" I gave him my hand, which was covered in significantly less blood than the moment before. He didn't seem to notice, but I wondered where the extra blood had gone.

"No, just scared me," He was still looking at my hand but had now taken a piece of cloth and was cleaning the blood off of it. "Thank you, for coming to help." He looked up, we were about the same height, if anything, he was just barely taller than me.

"No need to thank me, it's my job." He finished cleaning my hand off and then took the dagger, "This really is Techno's dagger. You got one of his weapons. That's amazing."

"Really?"

"Really, how did you get it off of him?"

"He was on top of me so I ripped it off of his belt."

"On top of you?"

"Yeah, he tripped me and then held me to the floor while he told me I didn't know any of you."

He just silently looked at me, "Let's get you inside and we can talk about it more. Where were you even heading?"

"Tubbo's. Someone broke into Eret's castle and left me a wither rose. Looking back, I think it was Techno."

"Ok, let's get you to Tubbo's."


	3. Chapter 3

Quackity threw Tubbo's door wide open, almost knocking it off of the hinges. "Tubbo! Tubbo wake up!" He kept yelling for as he ran upstairs and I heard him open doors checking for him. 

"Quackity? Why are you in my house?" It was muffled and I could barely hear him. 

"Techno was here. He attacked Anya. She's not safe, as much as I hate it, we need Dream. Now." It was easier to make out what Quackity was saying, it seemed that he was still in the hallway. I couldn't make out what Tubbo was saying in response, but I heard footsteps leading out of his room and 2 sets walking down the hall and toward me. I saw them walking down the stairs while they were talking quietly about how to get a hold of Dream. 

"Anya," Tommy walked over and gave me a hug, "Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" I hadn't known him long but he was like a little brother to me. 

"I think she did more damage to him, she stabbed him." Quackity chimed in. Tubbo pulled away from the hug but still held onto me in fear that I would just disappear. 

"You stabbed him?" I nodded. He looked so proud. He started laughing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry, but it's just funny. He barely lets any of us get close enough to hit him and you stabbed him in his side." Quackity for once seemed amused. He seemed a lot less uptight when it was just Tubbo. This side of him seemed much nicer than the other side. 

"Where is Eret? He went back to the castle when he asked Liam to bring me here." I asked.

"I would assume he's back at the castle then. He isn't here." Tubbo said. 

"You're not going back there tonight, are you? Techno knows you're staying there. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting you stay there tonight." Quackity added. There was a knock at the door. 

"Tubbo! It's Eret!" 

"Come in!" Eret opened the door and searched the room, his eyes landing on me. "Oh good, you made it safe. The castle's been secured. There's no evidence of forced entry, so someone let him in, or he fixed whatever he broke. Either way, he's gone."

"Eret, can I speak with you?" Quackity motioned for Eret to follow him to one of the spare rooms on the first floor. 

"Sure, I guess." Eret followed him and shut the door behind him. 

"I don't know what they're talking about, but can I make you some tea or something?" Tubbo asked. 

"Sure, that sounds lovely. Thank you!" We headed into the kitchen where he put the kettle on to boil. We sat in the kitchen and just chatted about normal things. He told me about his friendships and asked me how I was enjoying everything. I told him about how close Niki and I were getting. The kettle started yelling at us so Tubbo took it off of the stove and made us the tea. We were sipping on it when we heard footsteps behind us. 

"Oh Eret," I turned, expecting to see Eret and Quackity but I was greeted by a green hoodie and a white mask, "You're not Eret."

"Nope. Hi Tubbo. I heard you needed me?" 

"Hi Dream. Yeah, Eret was walking along the outskirts and he found Anya. She doesn't remember anything and we were hoping that you might know something." So that's who Dream was. He was about as tall as Eret was, but he was blond and his mask covered his eyes and nose. 

"Anya?" He walked over to me and stuck out his hand, "Hi, I'm Clay, but call me Dream."

"Hello," I reached out to meet his hand. His hand was huge, and my hands were big so that was saying something. 

"So what do you need from me?" He sat down next to me at the counter and Tubbo poured him a cup of tea. 

"I was hoping that you would know something, anything about me. I've heard that you know everything, so I'm praying that's true." Dream sipped on his tea. Before he could say anything, Eret and Quackity returned. 

"Oh hello Dream. Anya, do you feel safe spending the night in the castle? I'd have a knight posted in front of your door. There's be no way he could get to you." Eret seemed incredibly irritated. 

"Of course, I wasn't really worried about it. I don't think he wants to hurt me, as strange as that sounds. When he had me pinned, he just wanted to warn me. I don't know how much of a warning it was, but that's all he did." 

"Who?" Dream seemed very interested in what had happened.

"Techno." Quackity answered. Dream put down his teacup and looked at me. 

"Whatever you do, stay away from Techno and don't listen to him. He's dangerous and shouldn't be trusted. He only helps people when it benefits him." Now I know why my words didn't hurt him, no one likes him. I kind of feel bad for him. But he definitely doesn't help his reputation by acting the way he has. Quackity chimed in, telling me all the horrible things about Techno. How he's a traitor, and selfish. It went on for 10 minutes. It was almost midnight now. 

"Let's hang out tomorrow, Anya. Hopefully I'll be able to find something or be able to tell you about yourself." He put the teacup in the sink and started to head out, "Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow?" 

"Sounds good." I thanked Tubbo for helping and said goodbye. Eret said his goodbyes and walked out with Quackity and I. 

"I'll be right there Eret. I want to thank Quackity." I ran to the left to follow Quackity and caught up with him almost immediately. "Hey!"

"Hey?" 

"I just wanted to thank you, for you know, saving me from Techno." 

"Oh, um, of course. I want Techno contained just as much as the next guy." He could barely look me in the eyes. 

"Oh, yeah. Well thank you anyway. Have a good night!" I turned and ran back to Eret. I didn't hear if Quackity said goodnight back, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.

**************************************************

We got back to the castle and Eret walked me to my room. His knight, Captain Puffy, was the knight who was standing outside of my door. We said our goodnights and I headed into the room. I changed into a nightgown. I blew out the candles in my room and headed to bed. 

I laid in bed for what felt like hours without being able to sleep. I got out of bed and lit one of the candles. There were plenty of books in my room, so I grabbed one that was about a missing queen and headed onto the balcony. I loved reading and this would bring me some comfort. 

I was halfway through the book and at the point where the villain had taught the main character that she could touch a poison flower without reaping the consequences or feeling pain when an arrow soars by and wedges itself in the wall on the opposite side of the balcony. I jumped up and looked out over the edge but there was no one. I walked to the arrow and noticed there was a letter tied to it. I yanked the arrow out of the wall and slip the letter off of it. 

Hello,

I hope I didn't scare you too much. That was never my intention, I just know the people of L'Manberg and I know how they are. I just don't believe that they will tell you everything. They don't know everything. No one knows everything. 

I just want to warn to keep your guard up. You can make your own decisions but I want you to know that you haven't gotten our side. I'll be back in a week, if you want to hear my side. In a week, I'll shoot an arrow with my location for you to meet me if you are open to listening to me. 

~The Blade

As soon as I read the name my head snapped to the field that my balcony overlooked. What the fuck was he thinking? After holding me a sword point, twice, he'd think that I'd be willing to meet him? Was he out of his mind? He had to be. There's a reason Tommy was exiled. Techno is bed, he destroyed L'Manberg. He turned against his allies. He's their enemy. 

I crumpled the letter up in my hands and went back inside. I marked the page in my book and put it back on the shelf. I put the letter into a drawer in the vanity. I blew out the candle and got into bed and fell asleep. 

**************************************************

The next day, I got dressed in a light blue tea length dress. It had a sweetheart neckline with sleeves that tied and a tulle skirt. It was about noon and Dream and I had agreed to meet at the community house. Thankfully, it was directly in front of the castle. 

When I walked into the house I saw Dream sitting on the stairs waiting for me. 

"Hi! You look amazing!" He took my hand and spun me around. 

"Oh," I giggled, "Thank you!" I felt my face turn pink. He hadn't let go of my hand after he had spun me around and he was still holding it. 

"All right, I want to show you something," He started leading me out of the community house and away from L'Manberg. We walked for a little until we came up on a cliff. 

"Ok, now close your eyes." 

"We're on a cliff, you're funny if you think I'm closing my eyes on a cliff." 

"Please trust me," He gave me puppy dog eyes. 

"Ugh, fine," I smiled and shut my eyes. He linked our arms together and led me up a hill. I grabbed his arm with my free hand to make me feel safer about having shut my eyes. He stopped walking and let me go. 

"Ok, and open!" When I opened my eyes I was looking at Dream standing on the ledge with a beautiful lake behind him. At Dream's feet there was a picnic set up. It had a gray gingham blanket with a whicker basket. It was so pretty. 

"Do you like it?" 

"It's amazing!" He motioned for me to sit, so I did. He pulled a bunch of fruits, sandwiches, and finger cakes out of the basket and set it out on the blanket. Then he reached in and pulled out cups and plates. 

"Would you like a drink?" 

"Yes please," I held up my cup and he poured me some of the juice he had brought. We ate and talked for hours on the cliff. It was amazing. We had the most amazing time just laughing. I lost track of time. We had been sitting for hours when Dream stood up. 

"Let's go down to the lake!" I happily followed him as we raced down the hill down the lake. As we got to the bottom, I saw that it had a small waterfall that you couldn't see from the cliff. He go to the edge of the lake and stopped. He reached down to pick up a rock. I got to the edge, took of my shoes, and walked into the lake. It was only up to my ankles.

"Come in! It's nice!" I yelled at him. He just looked at me.

"I don't know!" He yelled back.

"At least just put you feet in!" He sighed and smiled at me. He took of his shoes and started to walk in. He was right next to me and he looked out over the lake. I took my chance and kicked water up at him. He looked at me in shock, laughed, and then said "It's on." He started slashing back. We were splashing each other and we were drenched in minutes. We had somehow ended up knee deep in the water so I jumped at Dream. taking us both down and landing completely under the water. My hair was completely drenched and in my face. His hair was long enough that his was in his face. He brushed his hair out of his face. 

"You've got a lot of nerve don't you?"

"Absolutely," I smiled back. 

"You're making it very hard to not want to kiss you right now."

"Why don't you?" He had already had on arm around my waist from when I jumped on him so he used the arm that was supporting him to flip us, putting him on top and me in the water. He pulled me in for a kiss, and it was a nice kiss. I had one hand behind his neck and one in his hair. When we pulled away, we said nothing, just smiled. He stood up and helped me up as well. We were both soaked, "Let's get you home."

"Yeah, I'd like to dry off," I smiled and he walked me back to the castle. I was still dripping wet when we got back to the castle. We hugged goodbye. I pushed open the doors and when I shut the behind me I leaned on them and smiled. 

"What happened to you?" Eret laughed, "Did you fall in a river?"

"It was actually a lake thank you very much!" I returned. 

"What did you and Dream do that ended up with you in a lake?"

"We went on a picnic at a lake and I might have started a slash war."

He laughed, "Well at least you had fun!" 

"I did!" I ran up to my room to dry off and change. I had to tell Niki what happened!


	4. Chapter 4

When I got to my room, I got out of the sopping dress and dried off. I changed into a flowy white top and a long overall dress. I put the blue dress on a hanger and put it on the balcony to dry. I braided my hair, threw on a pair of sneakers and ran to Niki's. I was out of breath when I barreled through the door of her bakery. She was at the register checking out Jack. He was buying a cake.

"Thank you! Come back soon!" She sang. He thanked her, waved at me, and then left. 

"Why are you out of breath? Did you run here?" She walked out from behind the counter, "Weren't you meeting with Dream today?" I nodded aggressively as I tried to catch my breath. 

"You are NOT going to believe what happened today!" She looked at me for a second before walking to her front door and flipping the 'Open' sign to 'Closed'. 

"Tell me everything."

**************************************************

We had eaten so many cookies by the time I got to the end of the story of my day with Dream. 

"I can't believe he kissed you!" She bit into her cookie, "That's so crazy! I thought he was with George?" 

"He's already with someone?" I put down my sweet, suddenly feeling sick.

"I don't know. No one ever said anything but they're really flirty, but it could just be their friendship." My stomach settled hearing that it could just be a rumor. I wasn't upset that he could be someone's person, but that I could come between that. I just hoped it was a rumor. 

It was getting dark out and I had to be back at the castle, I didn't like walking by myself in the dark. We hugged goodbye and I went back to Eret. When I got back I met him in the lounge. We hadn't had much time to hang out so we. sat down and played chess. I didn't know how to play so he tried to teach me, with little success. He beat me in every round, even when he was helping me. We play around 10 games before I grew sick of losing and went to bed. I put on the nightgown, grabbed my book, and sat on my balcony, picking up where I had ended last time. I read for a little before I headed back inside to go bed.

**************************************************

Over the next few days, I saw Dream around the town. If we were in public were people could see, he was cold to me. He barely spoke or looked at me. But if we were alone, he was sweet and affectionate. I understood wanted to keep everything under raps, but he didn't have to ignore me. I hurt when I saw him acting that way. I had tried to ask him about George but he just brushed over it saying it was 'in the past' and 'nothing to worry about'. But I did worry. I talked to Niki almost everyday about it.

"I know it's stupid, I haven''t known him that long, but I don't remember anything and he feels familiar. He makes me feel like I'm not alone, like I've known him for years." I confided in Niki one night after she had closed up shop and we had headed out to the field to stargaze. 

"Trust me, I know the feeling. Maybe not as quickly as you did, but I had someone who made me feel that special before," She sounded sad. 

"Really? Who, if you don't mind me asking?" I sat up and looked at her. She didn't move and just kept laying down and staring at the stars.

"His name was Wilbur. After the Election, he was exiled. I hardly was able to see him because I was working so much because Schlatt, the elected president, was taxing me. I could hardly afford it. Then there was a festival, Schlatt forced Techno to kill Tubbo because he was a spy for Pogtopia. Wilbur and Tommy were watching and Techno was on their side. I left after Tubbo died and met up with them in Pogtopia. Wilbur was losing it, Tommy and I were both worried for him. He became so corrupt with overthrowing Schlatt, it was like he couldn't think straight. And then we had the Manberg vs Pogtopia war and we won. Schlatt was dead and Tubbo was our new president, but Techno felt betrayed. He was never for democracy or royalty, he as an anarchist. Wilbur disappeared and Tommy and Techno started arguing. Then everything blew up. Wilbur had blown it all up. And he died. Then Techno spawned withers and..." She trailed off. I looked over at her and saw the tears in her eyes. 

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know that happened." I looked back at the stars. We laid there in silence for a few minutes.

"It's hard. Fundy always talks about Ghostbur, but I think he just made him up to cope. I don't really have anything here anymore, other than friends and my bakery. But nothing tying me to the land." She sat up next to me, "It's just never been the same. It's like people pick the land over their friends." There was another pause, "If you find someone who makes you feel safe, fight for it. If there is that feeling in your heart or your head that draws you to someone, follow it. Don't let it get away, or you might regret it forever." She got up and helped me up. We hugged goodbye and I headed home. 

When I got home, Eret was already in his room. I snuck into my room and changed into my nightgown. I sat down at my vanity to brush my hair. My brush wasn't on top like I thought I had left it so I started opening the drawers, searching for it. In the bottom drawer, I found my brush. And Techno's letter. I picked up the crumpled paper and reread it. I realized today was a week later. I went to my balcony and saw an arrow lodged into the stone with another letter. I got the letter off of the arrow and read it. 

Meet me at the edge of the woods if you want. 

My head started running through scenarios of if I went and met him. He could kill me, he could attack me, he could kidnap me, but he could also just talk to me. My curiosity got the best of my and I went inside and grabbed Techno's blade that I had taken from the night he jumped me in the ally. Quackity had given me a holder that went around my thigh to hold a knife and put it on. I slipped the knife in. I put on my flats and went back to the balcony. I carefully climbed down the side of the castle. Once I was safely on the ground, I bolted to the edge of the woods. 

"You came."


	5. Chapter 5

He stepped out from behind the tree into the moon lit field I was standing in.   
"I'm shocked," He stepped closer, "After I heard that Dream took you out, I thought." He trailed off.   
"You thought what?" I stood firm as he lost eye contact with me.   
"I thought you would've heard all of the propaganda and been terrified of me." He looked back up at me, meeting my eyes.   
"Not many people have told me much about you except for Niki."   
"And what did she tell you?" He leaned closer to me, still being a few feet away.   
"That you were forced to kill a child, you helped a cause who you felt betrayed you, and then you helped Wilbur destroy L'Manberg."The story was more about Wilbur when she told it, but you were in it." He leaned against a tree, the moon only lighting up the right side of his mask. His arms were crossed but his harsh demeanor had fallen. His eyes had fallen again. It was almost hard for him to look at me.  
"You wanna know what really happened?" He looked back up at me. My eyes were wide. I hadn't even thought of the possibility that I wasn't getting the full story. I nodded. He leaned against the tree and slid down to the floor. He motioned for me to follow. I walked over the the edge of the woods and sat down under the tree next to him.   
"I was brought here to take down Schlatt. Technically, I didn't care who I was taking down, I just wanted the government gone. It's the root of all evil. So Tommy and Wilbur asked for my help. So I did. I didn't know that Schlatt would have me murder Tubbo. That was never part of the plan. I didn't want to kill a child. I couldn't do nothing, he had me in front of everyone. He had outed Tubbo as a traitor. The only way to keep us safe was for me to do what I was told. After I did it, I turned my weapon to the crowd. I killed Schlatt in the mess. Tommy tried to kill me after I killed Tubbo, but he failed. We met back up in Pogtopia, Tubbo forgave me, Tommy and I fought, Niki joined us, and Wilbur started losing his mind." He took a breath and looked up at the moon. He was picking at his hands as he tried to compose himself. I didn't realize how much this would affect him. The way people talked about him made him feel heartless. We sat there in silence for a while. Before he spoke he leaned his head back.   
"Wilbur was power hungry. His want for power overtook his entire being and corrupted his sense of right and wrong. I don't know what happened the days leading up to Manberg vs Pogtopia, but something in him snapped. Something changed him from unstable to off the deep end. He seemed more crazy than usual, like it wasn't power that was driving him anymore. I don't know what it was, but it was more powerful than anything." He looked at the sky.   
"It's getting late, you should probably get back to the castle before they notice you're gone." He started standing up.   
"But that's not the whole story. What happened at the Manberg vs Pogtopia war? Why are you in isolation? Why is Tommy exiled?" I stood up to protest his abrupt departure.   
"I guess you'll have to come back." I could hear his smile even though his back was to me.   
"When?" I stepped closer to him. He turned to face me, but the moon was behind him, making it almost impossible to make out any features other than the horns on his mask.   
"The night after tomorrow. Meet me here, same time. I'll tell you about the war then." He started walking into into the woods and disappeared. I watched as he slowly faded from my view. Once I couldn't see him anymore, I turned and headed back to the castle. I struggled to climb the side of the castle, so I took of my flats, threw them onto the balcony, and climbed up barefoot. It was much easier that way. Once I got into the room, I took my knife holster off and put it on the bookshelf. I rolled into bed, and drifted off to sleep, anticipating the night that I would meet again with Techno.   
**************************************************  
The next day Eret came into my room to wake me up. My late night escapade had led me to sleep in much later than I had. It worried Eret that he hadn't seen me that morning. I had gotten dressed after he left in a pretty yellow dress that Niki and I had made a few days ago. Niki and I had taken up sewing to help me fill my wardrobe. I must have had sewing experience, before I lost my memory because of how easy it came to me.   
I decided to spend the day in the town library, reading all about the wars. If Techno was going to tell me his side, I wanted to know what the history books said. I was reading and reading, learning about all of the history. I heard Niki's side, which was filled with love and heartbreak. Techno's side wasn't fully filled in yet, so I couldn't decide, but his seemed filled with hurt. And the history books, which painted Wilbur and Techno as traitors. It made Will seem like he was always crazy, which doesn't seem to be the case with Techno or Niki.   
While I was reading, Fundy stumbled into the library.   
"Oh, hello, Anya! What'cha reading?" He walked to the shelf across from the sofa I was sitting on.   
"The history of L'Manberg." I hardly looked up, I was so engulfed in the first war. I never knew Eret was a traitor.   
"What part are you on?"   
"The first war, the one that fought for L'Manberg's independence." Fundy stopped for a minute before going back to searching for a book.   
"Yeah, I remember that. It was a wild war, I still can't believe there was a way that we won. " I thought for a minute before looking up from my book.  
"Can I ask you a question?"  
"Sure."  
"What do you know about Techno and Wilbur?" He stopped searching for his book and looked at me, taking a beat before answering.   
"I know a good bit. What do you want to know?"  
"Who are they? Really? Like these books make them seem so bad, is it accurate?"  
"Can we not talk about it here? Could we talk back at my house? Talking about Techno outside of your walls at home is the best way to do it. And Wilbur, it's hard to talk about my dad.   
"Of course," I put my book on the table in front of the sofa and stood up, following Fundy out and to his house. When we got there, he made me a cup of tea. He started talking about his dad when he put the kettle on the stove.   
"Wilber wasn't a great dad, but he tried to be a good ruler. He really was for a while, during the War for Independence, but after, he changed. I couldn't see him much due to his exile and Schlatt being an overbearing president. I didn't really see him until after Tubbo's execution. I ended up leaving Manberg and joining Pogtopia. Techno ended up helping us by giving us so much armor, weapons, and all kinds of things to take down Schlatt. The war went heavily in our favor with Dream surrendering surprisingly. Schlatt died. Then Techno went crazy after Will made Tubbo president. He started attacking us and Wilbur disappeared. He went on a tangent which ended with him telling Tommy to 'die like a hero' and spawning two withers. Then Wilbur blew everything up. Or maybe he blew everything up before the withers. I don't remember, everything blends together from the battle. I just remember seeing my dad die. His dad stabbed him." He struggled to keep the tears back, it seemed like it hurt him to the core to talk about his dad. He poured us the tea and continued, "But now, Will is dead. I still see Ghostbur though. He doesn't remember what he did, he only has his good memories. Eret was supposed to adopt me, but nothing has been finalized yet." We sipped on our tea in utter silence for a few moments before Fundy began to speak again. "But Techno, he's not a great person. He doesn't value loyalty. He'll turn on you the second you become inconvenient. He's a danger to the server as long as he breathes. There is no way anyone can trust him, not after all the damage he's caused." He looked into his almost empty teacup, "Stay as far away from him as you can." I nodded, assuring him that I heard and understood what he said. He put his cup down and stared me down, "I'm serious, Anya. He's not a good person." I looked back at him with the same amount of energy as him.   
"Then why has no one taken him down?" His stare soften.   
"We're trying. There's a plan." He stood up and put his teacup in the sink. "Hey, I have a meeting with Tubbo soon. It was really nice to talk about Wilbur though. Thank you."  
"Of course! I'm here if you need me." I stood up, hugged him goodbye, and went back to the library. It was almost 4 in the afternoon when I returned to the library. The history books ended after the The Pogtopia war. I would start asking people about it after I was caught up from Techno. I also wanted to ask Eret about his part in both wars. It seems in the first war he turned against L'Manberg, but in the second one he helped Pogtopia.   
I headed back to the castle around 6. Eret was sitting in the main living space.   
"You up for a game of chess?" He had shut his book and looked up me.   
"You just want to win," I laughed back.  
"Maybe." He smiled and headed to the chess table I sat across from him. He let me be white.   
"So, Eret, can I ask you a question?" I moved one of my pawns.   
"Sure," He moved a piece.   
"What do you remember about the first war?" A truck hit him. He couldn't look me in the eye.  
"A lot happened in the first war. I made a mistake and I've spent every minute after the war making up for it." He moved another piece.  
"So the books were truthful?"  
"Yea, sadly. I'm not the same person I was before. I've learned and I've grown." I moved a pawn.   
"Well then, that's all that matters." We smiled at each other and he proceeded to crush me at chess. I headed to my room afterwards and passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.   
The next day went by quickly, not much happened. It was pretty quiet. I helped Eret around the castle. I felt bad for staying there so I decided to clean. I was dusting when Eret found me and joined in. He had out music on and we dance around the castle. We finished halfway through but the music from the castle could be heard from the community house, so when people walked by, they came to see what was going on. We had mostly finished cleaning when Tubbo, Fundy, and Quackity showed up at the front door of the castle. I was the one who opened it. I grabbed Tubbo’s hands and dragged him in and we started spinning to the music. The other two followed us in. Tubbo and I were hysterical when we stopped. I almost fell over. We joined Eret in the ballroom and continued to hang out and dance. Niki showed up next. She was more then happy to join us. Soon most of the town had showed up. Even Dream showed up! We danced for a while before he had to leave. I walked him out and he kissed me goodbye. Everyone else started leaving soon after. It was late evening by then and Eret had retreated to his room. I knew I had to stay awake until I went to meet Techno. I decided to read on the balcony to help keep me awake.   
I started falling asleep in my chair, but I pulled myself out of the almost slumber. It was almost the time for me to go meet Techno so I decided to leave a little early. As I climbed down the wall, I realized that short, paperbag denim shorts and a yellow puffy sleeved shirt were probably a better option than a nightgown. I had sneakers on too. I got to the edge of the woods before Techno did, so I sat down against a tree. I didn’t realize when I accidentally fell asleep while waiting for him to get here.   
I woke up and it was still dark. There was a red blanket on me? I didn’t bring one with me. What time was it?   
“What were you doing all day?” Techno had his back to me, but I knew it was him.   
“Cleaning and Dancing,” I grabbed the red fabric and picked it up.   
“When I got here, you were shivering. I mean, you’re wearing shorts so,” He trailed off. He gave me his cloak?  
“Oh,” I smiled, “Thank you.” He turned and knelt down. I could see his sword, it looked wet. He must have seen me looking at it. “Zombies are a bitch. I don’t know why there were so many.”   
I quickly reached for my dagger but it wasn’t there. He looked confused.   
“I must’ve left my dagger at the castle.”   
“I didn’t realize you were armed?”  
“Only at night, mobs y’know.” I was going to have to sprint back to the castle to avoid running into anything hostile.   
“Hey, it’s pretty late. Maybe you should just head back. We can meet up another night and we can start where I left off.” I was barely awake so I didn’t hate that idea.   
“Meet me tomorrow, ok?” I nodded.   
“Let me walk back with you. Wouldn’t want any mobs to get to you and then have them blame me.” He stood up and reached a hand out to me. I grabbed it and he pulled me up with very little effort. We headed back to the castle in silence. There were no mobs, which was shocking since he had said there were a lot out earlier. I was still wrapped in his cloak. It was surprisingly warm. When we got near the castle, he motioned for me to sneak. I didn’t. I walked right up to the wall and he ducked behind the trees.   
“Thank you,” I took off his cloak and handed it back to him.   
“No problem.” He went to put it on and was struggling to tie it together in the front.   
“Here,” I stepped closer, “Let me help.” I took the two side from him and tied it together easily.   
“Sorry,” Was he red? “Usually Phil or Tommy helps me tie it. It’s hard for me to tie it without seeing it.”  
“Of course, it’s the least I can do.” I smiled at him and headed toward the wall. I started climbing up. When I got to the top and looked back down to wave, I couldn’t see him anymore. I quick changed into pajamas and headed to bed. The blanket wasn’t as soft as the cloak and it was kind of disappointing.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning when I woke up I saw an arrow stuck in the wall on my balcony. It had a note from Techno, "We shouldn't meet for a little. I'll send another letter when it is safe to meet."

A few days passed and nothing new really happened. Dream hardly was around but when he was he was only affectionate in private. I understood why, but I felt that he could at least talk to me. But he was practically ignoring me in front of everyone. It was like he was two different people. 

Maybe I was expecting too much. We had just met, but it seemed liked he was just as entranced with me as I was with him. I thought about him a lot, and I talked to Niki about him as well. She talked to me about Wilbur. We both had a place to talk freely, something I don't think she had before. I hadn't told her about my recent experiences with Techno. I don't think she would judge me, but I wanted to keep this to myself. I liked having a secret. 

Niki introduced me to a bunch of other people, including Karl. He was super sweet. He made constant jokes about the future and how his memory was going. His hoodie had a cool green swirl in the middle of a purple background. Then there was Sapnap and George, Dream's best friends. Sapnap had A white shirt with a flame on it over a black long sleeve. I wonder how he didn't melt in the heat. He seemed excited to meet me, George on the other hand was not. He wanted nothing to do with me. He said hi and then left while Niki, Sapnap, and I talked. I didn't understand why. She introduced me to Ranboo after we had been walking around and we saw a man who was towering over the two of us. He's half enderman, and 8 feet tall. It was crazy. He seemed nice but had to leave as it started to rain. Niki and I spent a lot of time together. 

We had the thought of having a party to help lighten the mood of L'Manberg. There hadn't been a Tommy or Techno appearance lately, but Tubbo, Quackity, and Fundy were always on edge, which made everyone else on edge. I was always down for a good party and any excuse to get dressed up for that matter. We talked to Eret about it and asked if we could have it in his castle. He was totally open to it, but we would have to plan it because he was busy helping Tubbo.

We started with planning a date. We decided that it would be in a month. We'd have time to plan, prep, and get everything ready. We started with the invitations. We set up in the main sitting area. Everything was scattered on the floor, the paper, the envelops, the pens, and the wax seals. We had a list of people to invite laid out while we wrote the invitations out. 

"So I have an idea," I said while I was sealing Fundy's invitation.

"Ok, spill," Niki was starting on Liam's invitation.

"We should invite Tommy and Techno." She looked up.

"Anya, I don't know. I think we'd have to ask Eret before we did that. It's his castle." She continued working on the invitation. 

"Well of course! But I just thought it would be nice for them to come. I've never gotten to really meet them so I thought," I trailed of and peeled the stamp off of the envelop. 

"Hold on," She stopped and looked at me, "I thought the last time you were in the same vicinity of Techno he held a sword to your neck?" 

I just started on the next invitation, "I mean, maybe. But everyone deserves a second chance."

"Wasn't that the second time you met?"

"Ok, yeah. But in his defense,"

"There's no defense," She poured the wax. "But what makes you want to invite them. You've only had bad experiences with them. What changed?" I thought about it, I thought about the first night I met him at the wood. I wanted to keep it to myself, but she had become my closest friend here in such a short time. So I told her everything. About how he had me meet him in by the woods, how he told me his story, how I fell asleep and he gave me his cloak, how he walked me back to the castle. Everything. It wasn't much compared to what she seemed to have experienced, but it felt like I had known him for years. It was crazy. She thought I was crazy. But she thought about Wilbur. She thought about how much she missed him, so we talked about the crazy experiences that only we had witnessed. She would support me. She would help me get Techno to the party. 

"But what about Dream?"

"What about Dream? Me wanting to be kind to Techno and Tommy doesn't stop me from liking Dream." We had almost finished all of the invitations at this point. We started on Tommy and Techno's. 

"Fair. I'll take the finished invitations with me when I leave and I start giving them out. You keep Tommy and Techno's until you ask Eret about it." She scooped up the finished invitations and put them in her bag. "Can you finish the last two without me?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem!" We hugged goodbye and she left. Eret came home soon after. We played a little chess, and I still was not good at it. We sat there in comfortable silence, interrupted by the occasional laugh or groan that escapes after a move. 

"So Eret."

"So Anya."

"I have a question."

"Ok?"

"It's about the guest list."

"Oh?"

"Do you care who Niki and I invite?"

"Nah, not really. They just better not destroy my castle," He chuckled.

"Ok, cool." And we left it at that. And then I lost. 

The next day Niki and I went together to finish delivering the last of the invitations. I had no clue how to get Technoblade and Tommy theirs. I didn't know where they lived and neither did Niki. 

"Do you know anyone who might know where they are?" 

"Maybe." She led me into downtown L'Manberg. We were were at the main square and she led me to a small house. She knocked. An older man, not older than his early 30's answered.

"Hi Phil! How are you?"

"Hi Niki! I'm well, you? Oh, hello. Have we met?"

"I'm good! This is Anya, we have a question for you."

"Of course, come in!" He stepped aside and let us in. 

"So what's up?"

"Well first," I started, "We're having a party, well a ball. And we wanted to invite you!" Niki handed him the invitation as I continued. "We also want to invite Techno and Tommy, but we don't know how to get their invitations to them. Do you?" He examined the envelope and then carefully opened it. 

"Yeah, I could get it to them. But honestly, they probably won't come. People here don't like them and they like to attack them." I think Niki noticed that news upset me slightly. 

"Will you still give it to them?" She held out the invitations, "Even if they don't come, I want them to know they were still invited."

He took the invitations from me, "Of course." He smiled at us. 

"Thank you Phil!" We both gave him a hug and headed out. We finished delivering the invitations and went back to Niki's to plan the menu for the night. We started off seriously, but when were started making samples to try out for the cake, we got distracted. After a quick break, we decided to make cake pops instead of cake. We also decided on lemonade, strawberry lemonade, watermelon punch, and champagne. We also wanted to have chocolate covered fruit. 

When I got home that night I crashed. Niki and I had so much to do, I almost didn't notice the roses sitting on the vanity. I jumped out of bed and lunged to the flowers. There was a small note tied to one of the stems. I untied it and read it. 

Tomorrow afternoon, meet me at the edge of the woods. I have a surprise for you! ~Dream

I held the letter close to my chest and smiled. I hadn't seen him alone, one on on, in what seemed like forever. Last time we met like this was the date, which was amazing. I can't wait. My dreams were filled with technicolor stars. 

The next morning I was still in bliss. I put on a green tea length dress with puffy 3/4 sleeves. I went downstairs and ate with Eret. We talked about my plans for the ball. He was excited to be able to help host something like this. I didn't know when exactly Dream wanted me to meet him, but it was almost noon and I couldn't wait. I grabbed his invitation and headed to the woods. 

When I got there, I waited about an hour before he showed up. He told me he was finishing an errand and got slightly held up. But he was here now. I took his invitation out of my backpack and handed it to him. 

"Niki and I had the idea to have a ball and Eret said we could use his castle. So, I want you to come." He took the invitation from me and opened it.

"Who all is coming?"

"We invited everyone, but no one has gotten back to us yet."

"Ok, yeah. I'll be there." He put the invitation in his pocket. He took my hand and we walked along the edge of the woods just talking. I could've listened to him for hours. We quickly came up on a small path lined with flowers. He led me down the path, the only sounds were the singing of the birds and the wind swimming through the trees. We got to the end of the path and there was a a small clearing surrounded by the trees. The sun only shone in the small circle clearing. It also seemed to be the only place that wasn't covered in flowers. On the left, there was a bench with a small box on sitting on it. Next to the bench, was a jukebox. He told me that the jukebox had been broken for sometime, but he couldn't wait to show me this place. It was hidden away from the world, and while he didn't come here, he thought I would love it. He sat me down on the bench and placed the box in my lap. When I opened it, I was greeted with dagger. It had a white handle with emeralds encrusted in it. The blade cover was made of emerald and when I slipped of the cover, it revealed the sharp blade. 

"I know the dagger you have is the one you got off of Techno when he attacked you, so I wanted you to have your own. I hope you like it." I was in pure shock. It was such a sweet gift.

"Of course I love it!" I pulled him into a hug. 

"Be careful with that blade," he laughed and he hugged me back. 

"It's amazing! Where did you get it?" I let go of him and went back to examining the blade. 

"I made it, I had a little help getting the emeralds, but I pretty much made it." 

"It's so pretty I almost don't want to risk ruining it."

"You have to use it!" He pretended to be sad, "I made it just for you." He gave me puppy dog eyes.

"I said almost! Of course I'll use it!" We sat there for a little longer before he said he had to go. We walked together to the edge of the woods before he kissed my cheek and left in the opposite direction of L'Manberg. I headed back into town, but headed to Niki's instead of the castle. 

When I got to her house, I took the guest list and marked down that Dream would be coming. I also saw that Phil, Tubbo, Antfrost, BadBoyHalo, and Skeppy had already said that they would be attending. Niki told me how she had talked to Jack earlier in the day and that he said he would come, she just hadn't written it in yet, so I did. She showed me her design for her gown, it was a sparkly pink fabric that had a corset top. The sleeves would flow over her shoulder, making them look a little like wings. We started on mine, it would be a sheer fabric with a darker skirt underneath the tulle skirt. The top would also be a corset top but with exposed boning. I knew I wanted flowy sleeves, but we didn't know how we wanted to make them look, so we decided to just wing it when we started making it. We chatted for hours about nothing. I told her about the date and the knife. We decided to have a sleepover that night. She even invited Captain Puffy and Alyssa. I borrowed some of Niki's pajama's and all of the girls and I ate sweets, gossiped, and told stories until we were all falling asleep. We all curled up in the blankets on Niki's living room floor. 

The next morning we all woke up around 11. We helped Niki clean everything up and then we all headed home. I changed into a knee length skirt and a black tube top. I went with Eret to hang out with Tubbo and help clean up L'Manberg. We picked up litter from all over the country. I don't know how many people helped, but I think I saw almost everyone out and about. It was nice to see everyone coming together.


End file.
